"I need to get racing and F1 is the place I want to be," Bottas said when asked by AUTOSPORT about whether he felt it essential he raced next year.

"I just need to drive more. This year already, this second half of the season, when there were big gaps between Fridays, it started to feel more and more difficult to find the rhythm quickly, especially when it was a new circuit to learn.

"So really I need to get to drive more because it is not easy to keep up and improve."

Senna hasn't been any better on the weekends when he had both practices on friday.

What about Hungary ? One of the few races where he had both practices.Also the qualify in the U.S.A was not that bad, he made a little mistake in his last lap in Q2 otherwise he was surely gone trough Q3 his speed was more than good enough.

I am hoping for a longer stay, but I am afraid he will lose his seat, which is quite certain now

What about Hungary ? One of the few races where he had both practices.Also the qualify in the U.S.A was not that bad, he made a little mistake in his last lap in Q2 otherwise he was surely gone trough Q3 his speed was more than good enough.

I am hoping for a longer stay, but I am afraid he will lose his seat, which is quite certain now

I believe Bruno's problems had more to do with not being able to adapt/properly turn on these wierd tyres than losing 15 practice sessions, especially during qualifying, where being able to turn on the tyres for the first timed lap is essential. I have no acess to their data but based on the car behaviour as seen from onboard and track cameras, Hungary has been the only grand prix where he was able to get on top of this issue throughout the whole weekend.

I would be a little sad to see him go although it must be said Bottas deserves his shot, bruno has had a fair crack. I'm not a Ayrton fan, but part of me wanted to see Bruno do well, he is a likeable guy, someone I root for.

I believe Bruno's problems had more to do with not being able to adapt/properly turn on these wierd tyres than losing 15 practice sessions, especially during qualifying, where being able to turn on the tyres for the first timed lap is essential. I have no acess to their data but based on the car behaviour as seen from onboard and track cameras, Hungary has been the only grand prix where he was able to get on top of this issue throughout the whole weekend.

Well being able to adapt or turn those tires on, are easier when you get enough practice time, those sessions are quite essential see also Paul Di Resta in the Force India. Hungary was the only race where Bruno had those tires switched 'on' on the right moment during the qualification. Also in the U.S he was quite close, making a little mistake in his last lap was a pity he and the car where fast enough for Q3.

Also when you look at his driving style, he drives very smooth unlike his team-mate who has a much more aggressive driving style, which suits the tires during qualify much better.

I would be a little sad to see him go although it must be said Bottas deserves his shot, bruno has had a fair crack. I'm not a Ayrton fan, but part of me wanted to see Bruno do well, he is a likeable guy, someone I root for.

I don't really looking forward to the drive from Bottas, he hasn't raced since 2011, and he won the GP3 championship...but what does that really mean ?But I do like Bruno ;) He is a nice guy and with his own helmet on, not that very ugly Sponsored-winning-design he was sporting the last races , he looks so great his eyes..just scary

I would like to see Senna another season in F1. On the other side I would like to see Bottas race. I would like to see also quite a few other drivers in F1 but there are just so many seats and I would like won't have much of an impact on that.

Not really a surprise, all things considered. Bruno comes over as a nice guy and I wish him well in what he does next but am glad we have a replacement for him. Just hope Valtteri lives up to his promise next season.

Very ballsy decision from the team - dropping a wildly profitable paydriver for a total rookie that brings no sponsorship, is a brave move that should be praised in my opinion. It also speaks volumes of just how highly Bottas is rated by them, which means he must've done a brilliant job in those free practices.

Expectations will now be rather high for a rookie, hope he can deliver it. Bottas clearly beat Felix da Costa a few years back in FRenault as team-mates (altho Felix was in his 1st year in cars, Bottas in his 2nd), so I have an obscure interest in Bottas doing well.

As for Bruno Senna, well he's hardly the worst driver we've seen at this level, he was actually rather consistent this season and got a few points scores. However that is very light praise and the best I can say about his performance. He just was never quick enough at any stage of the season, and now has looked poor in 3 different F1 teams. He may still stick around for a 4th team, because of his sponsorship, but I'd rather see other drivers being given the chance. I'd like to see him in Indycar for example.

Very ballsy decision from the team - dropping a wildly profitable paydriver for a total rookie that brings no sponsorship, is a brave move that should be praised in my opinion. It also speaks volumes of just how highly Bottas is rated by them, which means he must've done a brilliant job in those free practices.

Expectations will now be rather high for a rookie, hope he can deliver it. Bottas clearly beat Felix da Costa a few years back in FRenault as team-mates (altho Felix was in his 1st year in cars, Bottas in his 2nd), so I have an obscure interest in Bottas doing well.

As for Bruno Senna, well he's hardly the worst driver we've seen at this level, he was actually rather consistent this season and got a few points scores. However that is very light praise and the best I can say about his performance. He just was never quick enough at any stage of the season, and now has looked poor in 3 different F1 teams. He may still stick around for a 4th team, because of his sponsorship, but I'd rather see other drivers being given the chance.

That's not correct, although the amount of sponsorship from Bottas is considerably less than what Senna and Maldonado have brought.

Very ballsy decision from the team - dropping a wildly profitable paydriver for a total rookie that brings no sponsorship, is a brave move that should be praised in my opinion. It also speaks volumes of just how highly Bottas is rated by them, which means he must've done a brilliant job in those free practices.

According to AMuS, he has managed to gather the sponsorship package which equals to 3/4 of what Senna brings.

i honestly beieve we'll have the New Generation KIMI in Bottas, he has the blinding speed and attitude (like a fin should have, Kovi is too cheerful TBH ) , but he should learn from his team mate Maldonado and Grosjean in how not to squander this precious opportunity and follow kimi's philosophy of backing out of a fight one can't win and live to race another day. Williams is getting better with time, so i'd expect odd podiums from Bottas and also Maldonado FTM

Seriously, I think he already had his options, even more so than Kovalainen. It's ok that top drivers stick in the sport for a decade or two, but for a slow and unreliable driver like Senna, two is already enough. Hope his sponsors cannut buy him another ride and get some new guys in.

i wouldn't say so, aside from sponsorship, senna had the backing of his uncle's namesake, if he had scored odd podiums or be more consistent with his points scoring. i believe williams wouldn't have put Bottas in the 2nd seat. But that would've been a double edged sword cause i believe a lot of other teams has had their eyes on Bottas for quiet a while, so I think Toto was covering his interests with incurring minimal loss, smart more TBH

I'm eager to see what he can do. Maldonado definitely has speed so is a good person to judge him against. Wish Senna all the best, he seems like a nice guy and I'd like to see him get one last opportunity.

Really great news to hear, and i look forward to see what Bottas can do next year. Simply by looking at this young guy you get the feeling that he's not going to to do poorly. Wow, next year's Williams could be strong, both Bottas and Maldonado got determination and self confidence in them. On top of that they are fast!

Welcome Bottas, I think he could have a good season with Williams next year - the team certainly rate him highly. As for Senna, well he had his proper chance this year and he was just outclassed by Maldonado, even with the sheer amount of crashes he caused. He may well be able to stay though given the amount of sponsorship money he has, though there aren't too many seats left now.

Senna will be confirmed at Force India (perhaps better car than Williams in 2013) and Kovalainen at Renault ....

You seem certain about that, would love to see an all Finnish line-up at Lotus but Lotus want more money from Total apparently. The Williams line-up looks strong and I believe Bottas is definitely one for the future along with Maldonado.

i wouldn't say so, aside from sponsorship, senna had the backing of his uncle's namesake, if he had scored odd podiums or be more consistent with his points scoring. i believe williams wouldn't have put Bottas in the 2nd seat. But that would've been a double edged sword cause i believe a lot of other teams has had their eyes on Bottas for quiet a while, so I think Toto was covering his interests with incurring minimal loss, smart more TBH

if Senna had score podiums etc, would certainly be a different story, but he didn't so based on his results and the supposed 3/4 sponsorship that Bottas is bringing plus Bottas relationship with Toto must made it a really easy choice. And I don't agree it would have been a double edged sword too. In the worst case Bottas would have signed with other team and show he is the real deal and go to one of the big 4 the year after. So in the end Williams would have lost a talented driver for one season which could cost them 1 or 2 places in the constructors. Not really something to cry over for long.

The biggest problem in my point of view is that the smaller teams have no incentive to prospect the most talented driver available, since the points he can bring will not be sufficient to make up for the big difference in money that a pay driver brings, and the year after you gonna lose the super talented driver anyway. They must create a way to reward the teams that gives a talented driver his first F1 chance. The way to do that would be giving x% of all constructor revenue a driver A gets to his first F1 team. For example: Vettel generated 61% of the WCC revenue to RBR. RBR total WCC revenue will be $100,000,000.00 so STR would receive x% of the $61.000.000,00 instead of RBR. This way the smaller teams would have a big incentive to give the seat for the best possible driver, since he could generate a good amount of profit in the future.

Senna will be confirmed at Force India (perhaps better car than Williams in 2013) and Kovalainen at Renault ....

Kovi most probably is out, what makes you think LotusF1 will opt for a driver with no bucks with one that has a guranteed amount. but maybe B.Senna / Jaime is in contention . with 2nd lotus seat as well as second FI seat. Petrov most probably has secured his future with that 12th at brazil. that leaves only one seat at Marussia (which will most likely go to Glock).

Listen, I hope I am wrong about Bottas, and yes I have been critical of the decision for him to get the second seat. If I am wrong that is fine with me too. When Australia rolls around, we should get a better idea for what he is capable of. I think he'll be fine in qualifying, it's the races I'm more concerned about.

If Bottas is as fast as claimed, then Williams has one half of the puzzle solved for the future. The next thing is for them to improve on the FW-34.

Whether his sponsorship package comes from the increased involvement from current sponsors or from new sponsors, we don't know. I suspect it's both, but I don't think we will know who may be his new sponsor soon. Williams will run a new website at the beginning of the next year. I think this should be the time when new sponsors are going to be announced if there are any.